ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Tracking gunfire with a smartphone
• NASA probe observes meteors colliding with Saturn's rings
• Keeping beverages cool in summer: I''s not just the heat, it's the humidity
• Scientists image nanoparticles in action
• Einstein's gravity theory passes toughest test yet
• 'Taxels' convert mechanical motion to electronic signals
• Vaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle
• With wave of the hand, researchers create touch-based interfaces
• Bold move forward in molecular analyses
• Seeding a new kind of concrete
• Ceramic foam cleans up exhaust gases
• High performance semiconductor spray paint could be a game changer for organic electronics
• Entire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can curtail future galaxy growth
• TRAPPIST participated in the detection of ten percent of all transiting exoplanets known to date
• Nanostructures improve the efficiency of solar cells

Tracking gunfire with a smartphone Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:38 PM PDT A team of computer engineers has developed an inexpensive hardware module and related software that can transform an Android smartphone into a simple shooter location system.

NASA probe observes meteors colliding with Saturn's rings Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:46 AM PDT NASA's Cassini spacecraft has provided the first direct evidence of small meteoroids breaking into streams of rubble and crashing into Saturn's rings. These observations make Saturn's rings the only location besides Earth, the moon and Jupiter where scientists and amateur astronomers have been able to observe impacts as they occur. Studying the impact rate of meteoroids from outside the Saturnian system helps scientists understand how different planet systems in our solar system formed.

Keeping beverages cool in summer: I''s not just the heat, it's the humidity Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Those drops on the outside of your drink don't just make the can slippery. Experiments show that in hot, humid weather, condensation heats a drink more than the surrounding air.

Scientists image nanoparticles in action Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:24 AM PDT Scientists have invented a technique for imaging nanoparticle dynamics with atomic resolution as these dynamics occur in a liquid environment. The results will allow, for the first time, the imaging of nanoscale processes, such as the engulfment of nanoparticles into cells.

Einstein's gravity theory passes toughest test yet Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:22 AM PDT A strange stellar pair nearly 7,000 light-years from Earth has provided physicists with a unique cosmic laboratory for studying the nature of gravity. The extremely strong gravity of a massive neutron star in orbit with a companion white dwarf star puts competing theories of gravity to a test more stringent than any available before.

'Taxels' convert mechanical motion to electronic signals Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:22 AM PDT Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide nanowires, researchers have fabricated arrays of piezotronic transistors capable of converting mechanical motion directly into electronic controlling signals. The arrays could help give robots a more adaptive sense of touch, provide better security in handwritten signatures and offer new ways for humans to interact with electronic devices.

Vaterite: Crystal within a crystal helps resolve an old puzzle Posted: 25 Apr 2013 11:22 AM PDT With the help of a solitary sea squirt, scientists have resolved the longstanding puzzle of the crystal structure of vaterite, an enigmatic geologic mineral and biomineral.

With wave of the hand, researchers create touch-based interfaces Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:28 AM PDT Researchers previously have shown that a depth camera system, such as Kinect, can be combined with a projector to turn almost any surface into a touchscreen. Now researchers have demonstrated how these touch-based interfaces can be created almost at will, with the wave of a hand. For instance, the new system enables someone to rub the arm of a sofa to "paint" a remote control for her TV.

Bold move forward in molecular analyses Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:27 AM PDT New metrics for analyzing data from small angle scattering experiments should dramatically improve the ability of scientists to study the structures of macromolecules such as proteins and nanoparticles in solution.

Seeding a new kind of concrete Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:25 AM PDT Sunflower seed husks, a huge waste product of the vegetable oil and food industry, could be used as an environmentally friendly filler, or aggregate, for concrete according to Turkish researchers. The team demonstrated that the use of husks reduces the density of concrete as well as boosting the material's resistance to cracking after exposure to icy then thawing conditions.

Ceramic foam cleans up exhaust gases Posted: 25 Apr 2013 10:25 AM PDT The introduction next year of the Euro 6 exhaust-gas standard means that catalytic converters will become more expensive, above all for diesel vehicles. Scientists are working on a catalytic substrate made of ceramic foam which, because of its structure, is more efficient and therefore more economic. Not only that – it also requires less noble metal coating.

High performance semiconductor spray paint could be a game changer for organic electronics Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:33 AM PDT Researchers have come up with a novel solution to one of the biggest technological barriers facing the organic semiconductor industry today. They developed a high performance organic semiconductor 'spray paint' that can be applied to large surface areas without losing electric conductivity.

Entire galaxies feel the heat from newborn stars: Bursts of star birth can curtail future galaxy growth Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:33 AM PDT Astronomers have shown for the first time that bursts of star formation have a major impact far beyond the boundaries of their host galaxy. These energetic events can affect galactic gas at distances of up to twenty times greater than the visible size of the galaxy -- altering how the galaxy evolves, and how matter and energy is spread throughout the Universe.

TRAPPIST participated in the detection of ten percent of all transiting exoplanets known to date Posted: 25 Apr 2013 07:32 AM PDT Among the many planets detected orbiting other stars (exoplanets) over the last twenty years, a little less than three hundred periodically pass in front of their star. This is what astronomers call a planetary transit. Exoplanets that "transit" their stars are key objects for the study of other planetary systems, because they are the only planets beyond our solar system that can be studied in detail, both in terms of their physical parameters (mass, radius, orbital parameters) and their atmospheric properties (thermal structure, dynamics, composition).

Nanostructures improve the efficiency of solar cells Posted: 25 Apr 2013 06:13 AM PDT Researchers have been able to improve the efficiency of solar cells by coating the cell surface with extremely small nanoscale structures. The new technology has been shown to nearly eliminate the reflection losses of solar radiation.

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